Puppy Love
by KateMarie999
Summary: Ruffnut suddenly realizes that she's the smallest child in her group of friends. So she decides to solve this problem by making Fishlegs her boyfriend, whether he wants to be or not. Cute Rufflegs 2-parter. Some Hiccstrid tossed in there as well!
1. Puppy Love Part 1

_I ship Rufflegs. At first, I wasn't sure and I was kind of jumping on the bandwagon but the more I thought about it, the more I thought it made sense. So here's a cute Rufflegs one-shot for you! I decided to set this around the time all the kids are 6 so they're quite a bit younger and obviously don't have dragons yet._

_And just so you know, you have Miss Pookamonga to thank for this story. She begged me to write this when I expressed the little plot-dragon to her a few weeks ago._

_~KateMarie999_

**Puppy Love**

Ruffnut Thorston was a little bit small for her age. She figured that one day her twin brother would be taller than her. What she hadn't considered was that _everyone_ would be bigger than her (everyone except Hiccup but he didn't count). Even Astrid, who was a few months younger than her, had grown a few inches while she had stayed the same height.

The one thing about Ruffnut that didn't apply to Tuffnut was that she was a lot cleverer than she looked. She didn't have much by the way of book smarts (that was Fishlegs' territory) but she was a much better schemer than her dimwitted brother. So when she found herself uncomfortably aware of her height difference, she immediately began to think long and hard about how she would fix this situation.

The answer came to her after a few minutes of intense thought. So, not one to put anything off, she began to saunter casually over to Fishlegs' house.

The young boy was digging around in the garden in front of the house. Few plants ever grew there but he seemed to enjoy the digging in particular (which may have explained why few plants grew in the first place). Ruffnut shifted from foot to foot for a few seconds, figuring out how she would bring up this incredibly important matter to her pudgy friend.

"You're my boyfriend now." she blurted out at last.

He dropped the shovel and turned around to face her. "What?"

"You're my boyfriend now." she repeated slowly, as though talking to a toddler.

"No I'm not!" Fishlegs protested, straightening up and brushing the dirt off of his knees.

"Yes you are. Now you have to save me from dragon attacks and beat up my brother when he's mean to me and… and… other things." said Ruffnut, counting his boyfriend duties on her fingers.

"But… but Snotlout is bigger than me!" Fishlegs exclaimed, his face slowly going pale. "Why isn't _he _your boyfriend?"

Ruffnut considered this for a second. "Because he smells like rotten fish and I wouldn't want to kiss him." she said as though this settled the matter.

Fishlegs took a few steps back and very nearly tripped over the watering can right behind his feet. "You want to kiss _me_?"

"Not now, silly! When you save me from a dragon attack!" she giggled. "ROAR!" she suddenly shrieked, startling the poor boy further.

They stared at each other for a few seconds. Ruffnut kind of had of maniacal glint in her eye while Fishlegs looked terrified. Satisfied that she had now gotten herself a protector, Ruffnut spun around on her heel and walked off without another word.

* * *

A few hours later, Fishlegs was walking to the Great Hall for dinner, having almost forgotten the bizarre events that transpired earlier that day. The moment he walked through the large double doors, he was immediately reminded when he was nearly bowled over by his new girlfriend.

"Sit next to me!" she squealed, grabbing his hand with a surprisingly firm grip and dragging him to the nearest table.

The table just happened to be occupied by Hiccup, who was minding his own business when he was unceremoniously shoved to the side by Ruffnut and Fishlegs. He spilled his soup all over the table.

"Hey!" he cried, nearly falling off the bench.

"Get your own table!" Ruffnut snapped at the smaller boy, shoving him off the bench entirely.

"Ruffnut, don't do that…" Fishlegs whined.

"I _did _get my own table and then you took it!" Hiccup said as he stood up.

"Well get _another_ table!" Ruffnut shoved him again and he nearly fell over.

Giving her an indignant look, Hiccup walked away, muttering furiously to himself.

"Why were you so mean to him?" Fishlegs asked once Hiccup was out of earshot.

"Because he was in my way." Ruffnut replied with a shrug. "It doesn't matter, it's just Hiccup."

Fishlegs watched at the boy attempted to sit down at a few other tables but was rejected time and time again. At last, he sat down in the corner of the room and ate by himself. Fishlegs felt a pang of sympathy for his peer but Ruffnut soon drove all thoughts of the chief's son out of his mind.

"My brother said my face looks like a Gronckle. You have to beat him up." Ruffnut said in a rather businesslike tone.

Fishleg's mouth dropped open. He tried to make noise but only squeaking came from his mouth. Ruffnut smacked him on the shoulder.

"Go now!" she squealed. "He's sitting over there!"

The last thing Fishlegs felt like doing was obliging but Ruffnut had balled her fist once more so he figured he was in a very dangerous situation either way. He considered his options. He could try to beat up Tuffnut. But Tuffnut would probably knock his teeth out. He could refuse but then _Ruffnut_ would knock his teeth out. He could run away but then Ruffnut would find him and probably cause this exact dilemma at a later time. And, he supposed, he could call for his mother and see if she could protect him from his girlfriend.

Rather than make a decision right away, Fishlegs bit his lip and stared at Tuffnut, who was in some kind of fist fight with Snotlout. Why hadn't Ruffnut picked Snotlout as her boyfriend?

"What are you waiting for?" Ruffnut shouted and pushed her boyfriend toward her brother.

Fishlegs, trembling all over, walked up to Tuffnut and Snotlout. They stared at him for a few seconds.

"What?" said Snotlout, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Umm…" Fishlegs faltered. "Well Ruffnut says… I mean you shouldn't have… I mean… umm…"

"Terror got your tongue?" asked Tuffnut.

Fishlegs shook his head. "RuffnutsaysyousaidherfacelookslikeaGronckleandtha twasmean!" he said in one breath.

Tuffnut cocked his head to the side. "What?"

"Ruffnut says you said her face looks like a Gronckle and that was mean. So can you… umm… say you're sorry?" Fishlegs recoiled slightly, not wanting to be in the range of Tuffnut's fist.

Tuffnut laughed. "But her face _does_ look like a Gronckle."

"No it doesn't. It's pretty." Fishlegs retorted, surprised at his sudden courage.

"Pretty _ugly_." Tuffnut rolled his eyes. "Why do you care?"

"You hurt her feelings and I don't like it when my friends are sad." Fishlegs crossed his arms. "Say you're sorry."

"Ooh is she your girlfriend?" Snotlout asked, pushing him backward.

"No!" Fishlegs shouted.

"Fishlegs and Ruffnut sitting in a tree! K-I-S… umm… however the rest of it goes!" Tuffnut mocked.

"No!" Fishlegs repeated. "She's not my girlfriend!"

"But you said she was pretty!" Snotlout teased.

"Because she _is_ pretty! But she's not my girlfriend!" Fishlegs whined. "Just go say you're sorry because that was really mean and…"

"If you want me to apologize, you're gonna have to win a fight!" Tuffnut balled his fists.

"But I don't wanna fight!" Fishlegs took a few steps back. "Please don't make me fight!"

Tuffnut shoved him again. "Hit me back!"

"No!"

"I said hit me back! Chicken!" Tuffnut smacked him on the shoulder.

"Yeah, Fishlegs, hit him back." said Astrid, walking up to the altercation.

Fishlegs shook his head. His lip quivered but he stood his ground. Ruffnut came up to them a moment later.

"What are you waiting for?" Ruffnut shrieked. "Punch his lights out!"

"I don't wanna hit anyone. I wanna go home!" Fishlegs wailed.

"Hit me back, Fishlegs! Come on! You know you want to!" Tuffnut grinned as he smacked the boy again.

Fishlegs squeezed his eyes shut and threw a punch.

SMACK!

"Ow! I'm hurt! I am very much hurt!" Tuffnut shouted, his hands flying to his nose.

Fishlegs opened his eyes and was shocked to see blood oozing from between Tuffnut's fingers.

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize!" Ruffnut and Astrid chorused.

Tuffnut ran away toward the twins' mother. Ruffnut cheered.

"That's my boyfriend!" she squealed, hugging him tightly. "He defended my honor!"

But Fishlegs knew that this wasn't over. His mother would be so angry…

* * *

All in all, Fishlegs knew he had gotten off easy. When his mother heard the whole story, she decided not to punish him but gave him a stern warning. He knew that if he ever got into another fight that didn't involve a dragon, he would be grounded for the rest of his life. His mother wasn't like the other Viking mothers. She didn't encourage violence and pressured her son to study so that he would be smarter than the other kids.

The next day, Fishlegs decided to take a walk to the other side of the island to pick berries. He liked to bring them home for his mother because whenever he did, she would make him a delicious pie. As he went deeper into the forest, he suddenly encountered Hiccup, who hastily hid what he was carrying behind his back.

"Hi. What are you hiding?" Fishlegs asked amiably.

"Nothing." said Hiccup but his face went bright red.

"It doesn't look like nothing." Fishlegs replied. "Let me see."

"No!" Hiccup jumped backward and Fishlegs saw a single yellow flower fall to the ground behind him.

"You're picking flowers!" Fishlegs laughed. "Are you going to give them to someone?"

"No! Well… maybe." Hiccup stared at his shoes.

"Don't give them to Ruffnut. She'll get really upset." Fishlegs warned.

"I wasn't going to." said Hiccup. "I was going to give them to Astrid."

"Astrid doesn't like flowers." Fishlegs thought for a second. "You should get her a new dagger."

"You think so?"

Fishlegs nodded. "Yeah. She likes sharp things."

"Oh okay! I'll go see Gobber. Thanks, Fishlegs!" Hiccup exclaimed, suddenly thrusting his flowers into Fishlegs' hands and running toward the village.

Fishlegs smiled at his friend. The other kids didn't like Hiccup but he thought the smaller boy was nice. Clumsy and a bit airheaded at times, yes, but nice. He continued into the woods until he saw the berry bush.

"There you are!" came a very familiar voice.

Oh _no_!

"Ruffnut, why were you looking for me?" Fishlegs asked, watching the little girl pelt toward him as fast as she could.

"Because you're my boyfriend!" she said as though this explained everything. "What are you doing?" she gasped. "Oh Fishlegs, are those for me?"

For a second, Fishlegs was confused. And then he remembered that he was still carrying the flowers that Hiccup had picked for Astrid. He felt his face go very warm.

"You're the best boyfriend in the whole world!" Ruffnut squealed, taking the flowers out of his hands.

"Ruffnut, I…"

"I want to kiss you!"

Fishlegs felt his insides freeze. "You don't have to do that, honest!"

Ruffnut didn't listen to him. She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him closer. He shut his eyes tight and felt her lips meet his.

And then something funny happened. The moment their lips met, Fishlegs suddenly felt something strange. It was unlike anything he had ever felt. It was like he suddenly wanted to kiss Ruffnut forever. He knew it was silly but he felt a little bit disappointed when Ruffnut pulled away.

"You're a bad kisser." she said suddenly.

"Oh…" said Fishlegs, at a loss for words.

"It's okay. I'll teach you." Ruffnut patted him on the cheek.

They heard a distant call coming from the village.

"That's my mom. I have to go home now." Ruffnut said and without even saying goodbye, she ran off toward the village.

Fishlegs stood there by himself for a little while, his face growing hotter. And for the first time in his life, he thought he was falling in love.


	2. Puppy Love Part 2

**Puppy Love Part 2**

Tuffnut Thorston awoke early the next morning. He usually had to be dragged out of bed by his sister or mother. But that day, he felt wide awake the moment he opened his eyes. He heard a faint sort of grunting noise and knew that his sister was still fast asleep. This gave him time to wreak havoc on Berk by himself. The thought was quite appealing.

He bounded down the stairs and wolfed down some bread as fast as he could. He had no way of knowing when anyone else would be out and about. As he closed the front door behind him, he thought vaguely of chasing the chickens into the Great Hall and causing mayhem for those who would choose to eat breakfast there. Or he could chase them into Gobber's shop where the task would undoubtedly fall to Hiccup to clean up the mess.

He decided that today was a good day to torment Hiccup.

A few minutes later, he had managed to get to the pen where the chickens were peacefully sleeping. He grinned and began to shake their cage.

With several loud caws of irritation, the chickens stampeded out of the pen and began to run all over the place. Tuffnut had learned how to deal with panicking chickens long ago in anticipation of this prank. Soon, he managed to herd them into the workshop and shut the door behind them.

"What are you doing?"

Tuffnut spun around and found himself face to face with his sister.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." he lied, trying to arrange his face into a puzzled expression.

Ruffnut put her hands on her hips. "I don't believe you. Why were you at Gobber's workshop?"

"I wanted to… to… I wanted to… umm… what were we talking about again?"

Ruffnut balled a fist and punched her brother in the jaw. He stumbled backward.

"You hit like a guy!" he exclaimed in surprise.

"And _you_ fall over like a girl!" she retorted, giggling at him.

Tuffnut pounced on his sister, hitting her in as many places as he could reach. She retaliated by doing the same, trying to move them so that she was on top of him instead. Unfortunately, due to her brother's slight growth spurt, he was now just a touch stronger than she was. After a few minutes, she realized that she couldn't get up and was helpless to his merciless pummeling.

Most children in Ruffnut's position would have begun to cry and beg to be freed from their position. Ruffnut didn't do this. She knew that crying got her nowhere. But she had been preparing for this moment for a whole day. She knew exactly what to do.

* * *

Fishlegs didn't want to get out of bed. The air outside was cold and he was nice and warm bundled into his blankets. He shivered slightly and then, finally deciding to face the chill, emerged from his bed. He winced with every step he took until he reached his boots. When he emerged for breakfast, his mother had surprised him with a piece of pie made with the berries he had picked the previous day. For some reason, he didn't feel as hungry that morning. Oh he was hungry but he had a lot more on his mind.

"I've never seen you eat so slowly." his mother commented after watching the small boy pick at the pie. "You've been acting funny since last night."

"I have?" Fishlegs asked, his heart beating faster. He didn't want his mother to guess his great secret.

"Yes you have. Come on, Fishlegs. Tell me what's going on." she wheedled.

Fishlegs sighed. "I have a girlfriend and at first I didn't want one but now I think about her instead of my books and I want to kiss her." he said in one breath.

His mother's eyes widened. "That's so sweet, baby. It's Ruffnut Thorston, isn't it? I've caught her staring at you."

"Yes. But I'm not supposed to have a girlfriend until I get really old! Like 16!" Fishlegs blurted out.

His mother began to laugh out loud. Fishlegs eyed her quizzically and patiently waited for her to finish laughing.

"Yes, I'm sure by the ripe old age of 16, you'll have all the girls chasing after you." She chortled, wiping tears of mirth out of her eyes. "Why don't you go play outside for a bit? I'll save the rest of the pie for later."

His mother was still laughing when he got outside. He didn't know what he had said that was so funny. 16 really _was_ old. He couldn't even imagine being any bigger than he was right now.

"FISHLEGS!" came a voice from far away.

At first, he thought he had imagined it. Then the call repeated itself and he realized it was Ruffnut's voice. He immediately dropped the shovel he had just picked up and hurried down the hill to Gobber's shop. He stopped when he saw what was happening.

Ruffnut was pinned under Tuffnut and he was hitting her over and over. She was hitting him back so, to be fair, it looked like this fight would leave bruises on both sides regardless. But Fishlegs could tell that, try as she might, Ruffnut couldn't get away from her brother's fists.

Something inside of him snapped. Shrieking wildly, he ran up as fast as he could and pulled Tuffnut off of his girlfriend.

"What was that for?" Tuffnut whined, fighting against Fishlegs' restraining arms.

"You hurt my friend!" Fishlegs replied as he continued to hold Tuffnut back.

"I knew she was your girlfriend!" Tuffnut hollered as he finally extricated himself from Fishlegs' grasp.

"Eat fire, Tuffnut!" Ruffnut shrieked as she suddenly tossed a Terrible Terror she had just found on the ground at her brother.

The dragon immediately ignited Tuffnut's hair. The boy let out a cry of pain as he immediately began to rub his head on the ground. Ruffnut laughed uncontrollably at the sight but Fishlegs' reflexes were quick. He pelted forward and smashed through the front door of Gobber's workshop, grabbed the pail of water the older man used to cool the metal once it was red hot, and ran back outside. He splashed the water on Tuffnut's head, swiftly putting out the fire.

Ruffnut looked scandalized.

"What did you do that for? It was funny!" she grumbled.

"It was also painful." Tuffnut piped up.

"Tuffnut could have died." Fishlegs said, helping the blonde boy up.

"You're not my boyfriend anymore!" Ruffnut shouted, turning on her heel and marching away.

Fishlegs watched her retreating form, feeling like there was suddenly a hole in a part of his heart he didn't even know he had. Why did he feel this way? It felt like something was breaking. Was that his heart? How could he feel that way after having only been in a relationship (and an unwilling one at that) for a few days? He slowly turned and walked dejectedly to his house.

He suddenly spotted something odd on the ground. He bent over to pick it up. It was a dragon's tooth but it had an odd curve to it. He wondered what kind of dragon had left it and hoped that the dragon would not return. Still, he thought, it might be a good idea to hang onto it. You never knew when you would need a dragon's tooth.

* * *

A few hours later, Fishlegs made his way to the Great Hall, unsure of what to say to Ruffnut if he encountered her. He knew he couldn't apologize for saving her brother's life but he also felt as though he needed to say something to her to get back in her good graces. When he entered, he nearly ran into Hiccup and Astrid.

"…took me all night but I think it came out okay. It's not very sharp and the handle's bent but I did the best I could and I thought you'd like it." Hiccup was saying, stubbornly talking despite the interruption.

The russet haired child was holding up a dagger that he had clearly made himself. It was bent and misshapen and Fishlegs wondered if Gobber had given the boy any instruction or if he had just played around with his mentor's tools. It looked as though the latter was true. Astrid was eyeing it with a small smile on her face.

"Thank you, Hiccup." She said, taking the dagger from him and awkwardly walking away.

Hiccup was grinning as he watched Astrid stow the dagger inside of her coat. This gave Fishlegs an idea. He pulled out the dragon's tooth and strung it so that it made a sort of necklace. He spotted Ruffnut sitting across the room across from Snotlout. He took a deep breath and made up his mind.

"What are_ you_ doing here?" Ruffnut asked rather rudely.

"I made this for you." Fishlegs said, awkwardly handing over the dragon's tooth necklace.

"Oh." was all Ruffnut could say as she stared at the necklace. "Thanks. But you're still not my boyfriend."

Fishlegs nodded, feeling slightly disappointed. He turned and walked away.

Ruffnut stared at the necklace. It was pretty cool, after all. She slowly picked it up and tied it around her neck. The dragon's tooth looked interesting against her chest and she felt a twinge of something deep inside of her. She looked up at Fishlegs, who was still looking rather sad, and considered going after him. A moment later, she shook her head.

Still, it was a nice necklace. And in that moment, even though she and Fishlegs weren't together anymore, she decided she was never going to take it off. Not ever.


End file.
